Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 9/18: Wilco, “Everyone Hides”
Wilco has a new album, “Ode to Joy,” set for release early next month, and the band released a new video for a not-quite-new song to promote it. Band leader Jeff Tweedy pointed out that it’s “the first promotional video to feature Wilco as a living breathing band of humans in close to 20 years.” […]
Song of the Day 9/17: Luna Lee, “La Grange”
Her name is Luna Lee, and she’s playing a traditional Korean stringed instrument called a gayageum. She has a whole YouTube channel devoted to her covers of classic rock songs, everything from Jimi Hendrix to Nirvana. I picked this one because 1) I love this song and 2) her solo pays a nice tribute to […]
Song of the Day 9/16: The Cars, “You Might Think”
Ric Ocasek, who died in New York at age 75 over the weekend, is a good example of never giving up. The Cars weren’t his first band, or his second, or his third. He and Benjamin Orr had bands in Columbus, Ohio, and Ann Arbor, Mich., before moving to Boston and hooking up with local […]
Song of the Day 9/15: Mavis Staples, “Wrote a Song for Everyone”
Mavis Staples can make any song sound like gospel music. This John Fogerty song was an under-appreciated deep track from CCR’s 1969 “Green River” LP until Mavis recorded it for her 2010 “You Are Not Alone” album. The only nod to anything religious is a line in the second verse, “If you see the answer, […]
Song of the Day 9/14: Eddie Money, “I Think I’m in Love”
Eddie Money, the classic-rock hitmaker from the ’70s and ’80s, died yesterday in Los Angeles, age 70. Born Edward Mahoney in Brooklyn, he ditched a would-be career as a New York cop and moved to California, where he came under the wing of legendary promoted Bill Graham and hit the big time with the self-penned […]
Song of the Day 9/13: The Decemberists, “Valerie Plame”
Valerie Plame, the former CIA agent who was controversially outed by the Bush administration in 2003, left Washington for New Mexico a few years back and is now running for Congress. She released an attention-grabbing campaign ad this week that set the internet abuzz. She’s a long way from her goal — the primary in […]
Song of the Day 9/12: Fountains of Wayne, “California Sex Lawyer”
Nobody’s heard much from Michael Avenatti lately, but I thought of him again when I was listening to FOW’s “Out-of-State Plates,” its collection of B-sides from 2005. In fact, the only way you can tell this song isn’t about Avenatti is that it was originally released in 2000 on the International Pop Overthrow Vol. 3 […]
Song of the Day 9/11: Glen Campbell, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”
Green Day made its name with a pop-punk combination, starting with “Dookie” in 1994, but this simple ballad is probably Billie Joe Armstrong’s most lasting contribution to popular music. He wrote it at the same time as the songs for “Dookie,” in response to his girlfriend leaving him to move to Ecuador, but it didn’t […]
Song of the Day 9/10: The Human Beinz, “Nobody But Me”
The Human Beinz from Youngstown, Ohio, were a late-’60s one-hit wonder thanks to this rocked-up rendition of an all-but-forgotten Isley Brothers track. Originally the Premiers, the band changed its name to the Human Beingz, but Capitol Records dropped the g, reputedly to capitalize on the “be-in” movement of 1967, when the band’s first album was […]
Song of the Day 9/9: The Highwomen, “The Chain”
I’m treading in El Somnambulo territory here, as the LP by the country supergroup The Highwomen — formed as a sort of “answer group” to the ’80s supergroup the Highwaymen — dropped just last week. I don’t know modern country music tastes well enough to forecast whether an album by Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren […]
Song of the Day 9/8: Pacific Gas & Electric, “Are You Ready?”
Gospel-soul fusion? Anything was possible back in 1970, when Pacific Gas & Electric formed in Los Angeles. The band’s most notable member was guitarist Glenn Schwartz, the original guitarist for the James Gang. He moved to Los Angeles in 1967, opening the door for Joe Walsh to join the band. This song, written by lead […]
Song of the Day 9/7: The Fireballs, “Bottle of Wine”
The Fireballs, originally Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs (named for the Jerry Lee Lewis song), are most famous for their 1963 No. 1 hit “Sugar Shack,” a tune that in retrospect seems to sum up popular music in the period between Buddy Holly’s death and the Beatles’ arrival in the U.S. The subsequent British Invasion […]
Song of the Day 9/6: Average White Band, “Pick Up the Pieces”
Everyone knows they’re white — it’s right there in the band name — but I ran into a millennial the other day who didn’t know they were Scottish. This video, from the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary party in 1988, is as much visual proof as I could offer: Hamish Stuart rocking out in a kilt. […]
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